Heel-cutter.



C. S. REAMY.

HEEL cuma. APPLICATION FILED JULY L191].

- Patented Dec.17, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

. I hi en lw" v -22 r'z'Jio vhe 3 Emmy C. S. REAMY,

HEEL CUTTER.

I APPLICATION FILED JULY 2. l9li. 1,2827%,

Pzltel'lred D00. 17, 1918.

m van 201" Chrmzopher" 5. Emmy WWM \V, 721's mrney CHRISTOPHER S. REAMY, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

HEEL-CUTTER.

' Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 1'7, 1918.

Application filed July 2, 1917. Serial No. 178,125.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER S. REAMY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Heel-Cutters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cutting machines; and a typical specific form of machine embodying my invention is partlcularly adapted to cutting heels from shoes, although I do not limit myself from any other uses to which the invention may be p It has been found desirable to cut heels from shoes in order to renew or replace them, rather than to pull the heel off as has heretofore been commonly done. The cut heel 'ives a clean fiat and smooth surface on wl iich to build the new heel. And it is an object of this invention to provide a machine which ma be used for cutting heels, of simple and e cient structure and of easy operation. Among lar objects I may mention the following: to provide an arrangement whereby the heel may be securely clamped and held by a quick and easy operation; and to provide an arrangement whereby the heel may be easily and quickly adjusted nicely in position so that the cut will take place not only to sever the desired part of the heel, but also so that the cut may be made upon a plane preclsely parallel to the proper or normal plane of the heel.

These objects will be more fully understood, as will also other objects and corre sponding accomplishments of my invention, from the following detailed description of a preferred form of deviceembodying my invention. For the purpose of this description I have reference to the accompanying drawings in which- I Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of my improved machine; Fig. 2 is a front and elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a sectional detail illustrating the means for holding the shoe clamp; Fig. l is a side view showing the shoe clamp and showing how it clamps the shoe; Fi 5 is a sectional detail taken as indicated iy line 5-5 on Fig. 4:; Fig. 6 is an enlarged back side elevation of one clamp member; Fig. 7 is a plan of the same; Fig. 8 is an end view of the same; Fig. 9 is the numerous part1cu-' a side elevation of another form of machine; and Fig. 10 is an end elevation thereof.

In my preferred form of machine I mount a circular cutting saw 10 upon an arbor 11 mounted in a bearing 12. This bearing 12 is mounted upon a supporting arm 13 pivoted at let upon a shaft 15. Shaft 15 is carried in the upper end of the main frame 9 of the device; and this main frame 9 carries a driving shaft 16 upon which I may mount a pair of pulleys 17 and 18 (loose and fast pulleys). A gear 19 on shaft 16 drives a gear 20 on shaft 15; and another gear 21 on shaft 15 drives a gear 22 on the saw arbor; these gears being in the nature of a speed reducing train to cause the rotation of saw 10 at a proper speed when pulley 18 is run at a speed normally available from a counter shaft, etc., in a shoe shop.

It will be seen that this construction allows the saw to move swingingly on the frame 9 and at the same time to be positively driven. In the form shown the saw moves from the position shown in full lines in Fig.

1 to the position shown in dotted lines in that figure, being moved in this direction by means of a handle 25 provided upon a swinging arm 13. The handle is pulled over in the direction indicated by the arrow, by the operator standing on the right of the machine in Fig. 1. This movement is designed to be sufficient to cut through any heel. The back movement toward the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 is limited by a stop 26 against which the arm 13 drops.

I preferably provide in the machine a suitable means, indicated at 27, for shifting the belt between the pulleys 17 and 18.

It will be seen that the saw 10 swings over in a vertical plane; that is, in its own cutting plane. I provide a shoe holding or clamping means on one side of this vertical cutting plane. I preferably mount a bracket 30 upon the main frame 9, this bracket having a horizontal upper part 31. The shoe clamp has a base member 32 which rests upon the bracket 31 and is freely movable thereon in all horizontal directions. I use a bolt 33 with a head 34 adaptedto pull down on the base member 32, and a nut 35 on the lower end of the bolt provided with a handle 36. The nut 35 presses up against a plate 37 and presses that plate up against the under side of bracket 31. The bracket 31 has a slot 38 therein, which extends out substantially at right angles to the plane of the saw and which is'wider than the diameter of the bolt, as is indicated in Fig. 1. Thus the base 32of the shoe clamp may be moved back and forth to and from saw frame and also it may be moved in all directions, and it may also be moved around to different angular positions with reference to the saw frame.

The clamp base 32 carries a relatively stationary clamping member 40 to which a relatively movable clamping member 41 is pivoted at 42. These clamping members are shaped as illustrated and have comparatively sharp shoe engaging edges 44 shaped to fit around a shoe heel. These edges are formed by the beveling of the clamp members at 44 on their sides away from the saw; and the edges are serrated or waved by provision of flutes or the like at 44*. These flutes 44 are spaced fairly close together so as to leave narrow surfaces 44 between them, not sharp enough to cut a heel but still narrow enough to engage a heel to hold it immovably. These beveled, curved, com paratively sharp edges are adapted to grip and clamp a shoe by entering into the crease immediately above and around the heel. This is illustrated in Fig. 5; where the heel is shown at 45 and the body ofthe shoe at 46. The wavy or serrated shape of the edges is specially designed to hold'the shoe against slipping in the clamp. The clamp edges are not sharp enough to cut the material of the shoe and they engage the shoe at a. place where, if they leave any mark at all, the mark is not in sight. The beveled sides of the clamp edges engage and press against the body or upper of the shoe; while the fluted side edges engage against the upper surface of the heel around its edges. Pressure exerted on the clamp members to clamp the shoe causes the diagonal surfaces 44, pressing against the'shoe body, to press the fluted surfaces against the heel. The heel is thus held very firmly, but without being disfigured at all. The fiutings 44 will thus be seen to perform two services; they provide the serrated or wavy edge to grip the shoe, and they provide the fluted surface that engages theheel.

It will be noted that the construction and mounting of the clamp are such that the clamp is always held in proper vertical osition, no matter how it may be adjusted 1orizontally, The shoe gripping edge 44 of the upper clamping member 41 is always directly above the similaredge of the lower clamping member 40. Consequently, when these edges are engaged in the mentioned part of the shoe, then the shoe is always held in proper position with relation to verticality; and this renders it easy to make the necessary horizontal adjustment to properly cut the heel. It will be noted that the saw outs in a vertical plane; and, the clamp being always in a vertical plane and the shoe correspondingly held, it is only necessary to adjust the clamp and the shoe in a horizontal virtue of the arrangements hereinbefore described, allowing the clamp to be moved back and forth toward the cutting plane of the saw and to be moved around horizontally so as to get the clamping edges 44 parallel to the cutting plane of the saw, or, for that matter, at any desired angle thereto. This adjustment having been made, the nut 35 is tightened to hold the clamp in proper position. The saw 10 is then pulled over, by operation of handle 25, while the upper clamp member 41 is held down tightly on the shoe, by using the handle 41 lVith the shoe held rigidly and securely in proper position, the heel may be very quickly and accurately cut.

In order to support the outer or bottom part of a high heel, to assist the clamp in holding such a heel, especially where the cutting is being done at quite a distance from the point of clan'ipin I provide an adjustable auxiliary support member 50. This member may be in the nature of a bar or rod whose upper 'end'may be swung in under a heel held by the clamp. The lower end of this bar may be mounted pivotal'ly upon a bolt 51, and the bar may be provided with a slot 52, so that it may be movable vertically as Well as pivotally. This bar may be swung in under the outer part of any heel to support that part, and set in supporting position by the thumbnut 53. It will be noted that this bar is on the side of the saw opposite to the clamp; the saw swings between the clamp and this bar.

The shoe clamping means is a feature of my invention. It allows the shoe to be swung around to any position, but at the same time always insures the heel being held correctly in a vertical plane to insure a cut in the proper plane; and it facilitates the adjustment of the shoe and heel to make the cut parallel to the proper plane of the heel. When the heel is properly cut, then the building up of the heel is made an easy matter that can be accuratelv performed. I have shown this form of clamp device embodied in another form of machine, in Figs. 6 and 7. In this form of machine the clamp is constructed exactly as hereinbefore explained, but it is mounted upon ahorizontal bracket 60. This bracket slides horizontally upon a horizontal way bar 61. A hand lever 62 is pivoted at 63 to a bracket or extension 64, from the horizontal way bar, and the upper end of this lever 62 connects at 65 with the bracket 60, so that oscillation of the lever will cause the bracket to move horizontally back and forth along the way bar 6l,to and from the saw 10*. Saw 10 plane. This is very easily done by is,- in this case, mounted in a stationary bearing 12, which is a part of the frame 9 of the machine. The horizontal way bar 61 is mounted upon the frame 9 by means of a bracket 61*. The difference between this form and the form first described is that in the first described form the saw moves and the shoe clamp is relatively stationary; whereas in this last described form the saw is stationary and the clamp is movable. Ihe clamp is adjustable in precisely the same manner as hereinbefore described.

Having described preferred embodiments of my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, a frame, a saw thereon swingingly movable in a vertical plane, a horizontal bracket on the frame with a slot therein extending substantially at right angles to the saw plane, a shoe clamp mounted on the bracket on one side of the saw plane, a bolt passing through the slot to hold the shoe clamp, and a shoe heel supporting means on the other side of the saw plane 2. In combination, a frame, a saw thereon swingingly movable in a vertical plane, a horizontal bracket on the frame with a slot therein extending substantially at right angles to the saw plane, a shoe clamp mounted on the bracket on one side of the saw plane, a bolt passing through the shoe clamp and through the slot to secure the clamp to the body, said clamp being adjustable in all horizontal directions on the bracket, and a shoe heel supporting bar pivotally and adjustably mounted on the frame in a position on the other side of the saw plane. Y

3. A shoe clamp, embodying a pair of relatively movable clamping members having opposite shoe engaging edges beveled on one side and fluted on the opposite side to grip a shoe in the manner described.

4:. A shoe clamp, embodying a pair of relatively movable clamping members having opposite shoe engaging edges beveled on one side and fluted on the opposite side,

so that a wavy edge is formed adapted to enter the crease above the shoe heel, the beveled sides bearing against the body of the shoe and forcing the fluted sides against the upper surface of the edge portion of the heel.

5. In combination, a frame, a movable saw thereon, an adjustably positioned shoe clamp located on one side of the saw plane, an adjustable heel supporting means on the opposite side of the saw plane engageable under the heel to support the part being severed by the saw, mounting means for the clamp embodying a bracket and a clamp base member movable and swingingly adjustable in all horizontal directions thereon, and means to hold the base member in any position in which it may be placed on the bracket.

able heel supporting means on the opposite side of the said plane and adapted to be moved to and set in a position to support the end part of a heel held in the clamp.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 23rd day of June 1917.

CHRISTOPHER S. REAMY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. C. 

